Weekly Digest, Week 28 / 2026

Technicality and speed are the main (but not only) ingredients in these releases by Apogean, Dysgnostic, Iron Slaught and Volubilis.

The big releases are more straightforward this week, but not weak:

DevilDriver – Strike And Kill (groove/melodic death metal)

No Cure – It Is Going To Get Dark (hardcore/death metal)

The Plot In You – The Plot In You (metalcore/alternative metal)

What Lies Below – I Let It Consume Me (metalcore)

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TOP PICK OF THE WEEK

Iron Slaught – Metallic Torments

Genre: Heavy/speed metal

Subjective rating: 4/5

Objective rating: 4/5

Country of origin: France

Emerging from the castle crypts once more, after an eleven year absence, France's Iron Slaught sound like they've been deep in study of the arcane arts of underground 80s metal. There's never any doubt that this is a speed-style classic heavy metal album, but where you expect strict faithfulness to near-formulaic genre conventions, instead you get playfulness and variety, with elements of first-wave thrash, black and death metal.

While not "blackened", "Metallic Torments" is also far from a bright and bubbly kind of sound. It leans into its medieval concept and doesn't shy away from melodic sections, buildups and interludes, but the tone remains on the solemn and dark side. Vocalist "Iron" Jérémy offers up a baffling range of styles, each complementing the overall mood of the song and adding tons of character without at all feeling haphazard. The album is loaded with awesome solos and tasty riffs, and strikes an excellent balance between aggressive drive and epic scope.

Highlights: "Ghastly Obsession" and "Soldier of Fortune"

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Apogean – Waste Where Life Begins

Genre: Technical death/black metal

Subjective rating: 3.5/5

Objective rating: 3/5

Country of origin: Canada

On their sophomore offering, Canadian band Apogean take a decisive step away from the slightly generic (but spacey and fun) technical style of their debut and move in the direction of riff-forward, groove-centric blackened death metal, not horribly unlike a band like Vredehammer. Clear elements of hardcore and proggy technicality remain though, so as you get further into the album you realize you're not faced with quite as drastic a style change as first it might have seemed.

The main problem with this half-step into a new realm is that I'm left uncertain as to what the band actually wants to sound like, as I keep hearing traits clearly inspired by well-known bands of starkly different death metal subgenres. At one moment it's symphonic deathcore, then a bit of Allegaeon, some Behemoth-style evil solemnity, Sylosis melodic verve and Soulfly thrash-tribal brutality. Apart from a bit of stylistic confusion though, it's still a well-performed and entertaining album with strong individual tracks, for those who like their death metal treading the middle way between tech-y madness and abyssal blackness.

Highlight: "Daughter of the Oak"

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Dysgnostic – End Whispers

Genre: Technical death metal

Subjective rating: 3/5

Objective rating: 3.5/5

Country of origin: Denmark

Dissonant death metal has to hit a very certain spot for it to truly work for me, and I might as well admit from the very start that this sophomore release by Dysgnostic (previously Defilementory) doesn't quite do that. To me it feels too hesitant and distracted, like it keeps pausing and changing direction out of sheer absent-mindedness. And when it strikes, it's never quite the cataclysmic cacophony that I keep hoping for.

All that being said, this is a thoroughly sinister and hostile album that manages to be both unsettling and rousing. There's a blackened feel to it, without it taking on any explicitly black metal traits. It's oppressive and dark, but doesn't drag you down into despair, and it never feels repetitive. If you're into bands like Ulcerate, then you're gonna get more of the same measured mind torture here.

Highlight: "Orphaned and Abandoned"

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Volubilis – Theasterion

Genre: Progressive/technical death metal

Subjective rating: 4/5

Objective rating: 4/5

Volubilis is a fresh, one-man progressive tech death project out of Quebec, and already from the get-go he's pulling you deep into an intricate sci-fi concept. When you hear the words tech death and sci-fi, a very specific sound tends to come to mind, which involves frantic bursts of bleep-y notes and drums like an automatic typewriter on critical overload. This is very far from that. The tempos, while fast, are controlled and purposeful, allowing for memorable melody lines to shine through, and riff- and rhythm patterns to actually stick in your mind.

The song progressions are unpredictable and of varying tonality. You get moments of peppiness, wonder, alarm and stress, and for the absolute most part these feel like intriguing developments in the unfolding story. Every now and then I find myself a little jarred at the seeming randomness of a shifting approach, but it very rarely feels like these are thrown in there just for the sake of variation. The production is a bit weird, with a certain hollowness and lack of low end heft, but nothing so egregious that you don't stop thinking about it after a while. There's a wealth of innovative thinking going on here, and in a way that makes me think there is going to be more of the like, and even better, coming from this direction in the future.  

Highlights: "Homo Cumulus" and "Unukhalai Supernova"

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HONOURABLE MENTIONS

Arise From Worms – A Bleeding Tree Hanging Self Destruction

Genre: Experimental/technical death metal/shred

Country of origin: Canada/USA

Dehumanizing Itatrain Worship – 2D Complex

Genre: Brutal death metal

Country of origin: China

Mourir – Nous, Le Venin

Genre: Atmospheric black metal

Country of origin: France

Sojourner – Gateways

Genre: Atmospheric/melodic black metal

Country of origin: New Zealand/Sweden

Solarus – Of Sin and Ruin

Genre: Progressive power metal

Country of origin: Canada